Mr Richards found the puppies in some brambles

Rob Richards of Kirby-in-Ashfield in Nottinghamshire found the two dogs in Coxmoor Wood, and managed to save one of them, which he named Lucky.

Mr Richards said he was walking in the woods with a friend when he heard a whining noise coming from a carrier bag.

'Vile act'

"The two pups were wrapped tight in clingfilm. I ripped it off straight away, but it was too late to save one of them," he said.

RSPCA inspector Keith Ellis said: "This is a particularly vile act of animal cruelty which is impossible to comprehend."

"Why would anybody want to do something so ghastly and inhumane?"

The RSPCA said is urgently trying to find the person responsible.

The RSPCA said there were 13,623 cases of cruelty in the East Midlands last year, an average of 37 cases per day.

Nottinghamshire had 3,538 cruelty complaints investigated by the RSPCA in 2000, and 36 convictions for cruelty.